 
Interview by Rich Quinlan
Knoxville, Tennessee’s Brodequin has been away from the death metal scene for far too long, with the last release coming 20 years ago, but now there's a new album, Harbinger of Woe, and what a return! I had the pleasure to speak with bassist/lyricist/vocalist, nuclear scientist (!) and history enthusiast Jamie Bailey about recording a new record, the contradictory nature of humanity, and why European festivals are so much fun.
Jamie and his brother Mike began jamming together as young kids, and while Mike briefly had his own band, the two realized that if they simply moved their amps into one bedroom, they could write together with far greater ease, and the kernel of what became Brodequin was born. Ultimately, the duo met drummer Chad Walls and began writing together. Their early records, 2000’s Instruments of Torture and 2004’s Methods of Execution were extraordinarily dense and uncompromising works of brutal death metal. Fast forward 20 years, and very little has changed other than the quality of recording. The band writes songs that “get right to the point,” said Bailey. He went on to note, “when you find yourself at the end of the creative process for a song, it’s over. There is no need to simply add riffs to extend the length of a song.” On their new record, Harbinger of Woe, Brodequin crafted pieces that devastate the listener for three of four minutes and then move on to repeat the process. “Fall of the Leaf” and “Suffocation in Ash” are such examples of the band’s penchant for writing hooks in the midst of the crushing death metal.
The lyrical responsibilities fall to Jamie, and his passion for history, particularly the era of the Dark Ages, fuels his morbid tales of suffering. “We are not writing some of the traditional death metal themes”, he asserted, but rather uses the dichotomy between engineering advancement in order to inflict unimageable suffering. Jamie was initially inspired to study history through his father, who, while not a historian, “had a passion for history” and Jamie was drawn to European history at first. A family trip to Salem piqued his interest in witch trials, not just those in America but in Europe as well. (While the Salem trials finished in 1693, France continued the tradition of hunting and burning “witches” until 1793). The start of examining torture as a theme “began with Iron Maiden”, Bailey said, who “addressed a number of historical events through many of their songs”. Bailey bases much of his lyrical content on “historical facts through woodcuts and other documentation.”
The band’s hiatus was due largely due to a number of family issues, and the Bailey brothers took about year off from playing, but eventually “began playing a little and started to truly put things together” around 2015 and released the "Perpetuation of Suffering" EP in 2021. Harbinger of Woe involved a lengthy process, according to Bailey, taking “about 16 months from the first note was written until its completion.” The writing process involves Mike writing all guitar parts and Jamie handling lyrics, while sharing ideas over long distance with drummer Brennan Shackelford. The band now often works together but Bailey did acknowledge that occasionally, when the members found themselves in the same room, “it was a bit of an odd situation.”
The responsibilities of careers make touring difficult for Brodequin, but they may attempt “a few shows up and down the East Coast and possibly the West Coast”, but the band has thrived on the festival circuit, with the Maryland Death Fest as a second home. They have also played the legendary “Obscene Extreme Fest” and Bailey, ever the historian, stated that “there is just something different about playing in Europe when you consider what has happened on that soil.” Of course, the crowds at European festivals are different as well, with people consistently getting stage on stage and the presence of pool toys and other unique wardrobe decisions. 
Ultimately, even in a digital world in which access to music is so available, “word of mouth is still the best way to spread the band’s name,” according to the vocalist. “Friends suggest bands rather than finding yourself in a Bandcamp wormhole in which after hours, you may not find anything your truly like.” The members of Brodequin have a straightforward approach to their music and simply “do their own thing and do not worry about acceptance,” he said. But what about his other life as nuclear scientist? When colleagues learn of his side job, Bailey laughed as he replied, “They learn that the music is a different side of me.” However, rather than attempt to explain the nuances of death metal, he simply responds to questions about what he plays by giving an answer that the guys in Malignancy once gave to the uninitiated: “just heavy metal.”
Brodequin goes well beyond the “just heavy metal” label by constructing songs about nightmarish anguish that matches the intensity of their sound. The Bailey brothers generate death metal that seems both modern and fresh while also paying tribute to the origins of the genre. Harbinger of Woe is a relentless assault upon the senses and demands a listen. Fortunately, one will not be tied to a rack or endure the suffering associated with the band’s name, but I can certainly foresee a few broken bones when they bring their brutality to live audiences.
Check out the new album at Bandcamp.
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